Jan Marsh

DAY FORTY Did you know that the original meaning of quarantine is a 40 day period imposed to prevent illness, such as when a ship came to port with ill people on board? Jim Crace's novel Quarantine uses the idea to explain the 40 days and 40 nights

DAY THIRTY-NINE Another indoor day with heavy rain coming over in squalls, and lots of knitting. Our Quaker meeting is attended by our Clerk who has been occupied over the past few weeks getting in his organic apple harvest, with the added complications of Covid-19 restrictions. He comments later that

DAY THIRTY-EIGHT Here's the real test – a grey day, starting with low cloud, moving on with showers and ending with heavy rain – and three more days of this are forecast. I know it's needed in Auckland and Northland, I hope it goes there soon! I spend

DAY THIRTY-SEVEN 1sr May: a shout out to the workers who are back at work and those who wish they were. The day dawns with a clear golden sky which gradually fills with red-grey clouds. I know this because at 6am my cat, Po, bangs on the front door to

DAY THIRTY-SIX Thursday 31st April. Often at the end of a month we say, 'Where did it go?' We all know where April went and some of us have very tidy cupboards, gardens, paintwork to show for it. Some of us have also had a rest from our

DAY THIRTY-FIVE The day dawns with a red sunrise but there's no rain on the way, so don't worry, you shepherds! It quickly becomes another crisp sunny morning. I take some photos of my windowsill collection of soft toys – I've switched them around from

DAY THIRTY-THREE The last day of Level 4. After medititation I set up for my music lesson. It's the beginning of Term 2, in the old notation – it's a bit hazy just what a school term is right now. The children of essential workers can go

DAY THIRTY-TWO After our Zoom Quaker meeting, which includes ten Friends, I make a phone call to catch up with a friend and I stand in the sun while we talk about our week. Then I set off in search of a Sunday paper. At the bottom of the zig-zag

DAY THIRTY-ONE ANZAC Day. Before I went to bed last night I put posters in the car: 'Honour the dead by ending war' and told myself if I wake up I'll go up to the letterbox at 6am. So I'm not surprised to be

DAY THIRTY A clear sunny morning – we've been so lucky with the weather during this time. Each time it rains, the next day is all the more sparkling. It definitely helps keep up my spirits. A friend calls. Her husband is in hospital and she's worried

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT Wednesday 22nd April, just to get oriented. It's good to practice. My dear friend, dead some years now after a period of dementia, had the newspaper delivered daily and would note the day and date. Long after she was capable of caring for herself, when she

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN Well, I still have a pink gate. The second coat, vigorously stirred, came out much the same. Perhaps it's too cold now for outdoor painting. When the restrictions began it was late summer: T-shirts and sandals and swimming in the sea. Now, autumn has settled in

DAY TWENTY-SIX My day is neatly dovetailed between things I need to do and, unusually, scheduled events. As soon as it's warm enough I put on my painting gear and polyurethane the shed door, paint the back doorstep and the gate. Oddly, the doorstep dries the correct greyish

DAY TWENTY-FIVE Sunday in alternate reality. All the components are in place but in a slightly too shiny, too unpopulated way, like an episode of that excellent New Zealand drama This is not my life or The Truman Show. The button from the latter 'How does it end?'

DAY TWENTY-FOUR Saturday dawns with heavy rain and I'm off to a slow start, assuming that my plan to prepare the gate and shed door for painting won't be possible. But the sun comes out and eventually I'm out there with sandpaper and putty,

DAY TWENTY-THREE Friday again – where did the week go? I'm chatting on the phone to my sister when my friend appears with more wool and a fruit cake! How kind! We chat a while, at a distance and out in the sun, catching up on news of our

DAY TWENTY-TWO After my morning routine, the radio keeps me company while I do the housework. I'm intrigued to hear a resilience researcher, Dr Lucy Hone, talking to Kathryn Ryan. I miss a lot of what she's saying as I ponder what a great job being

DAY TWENTY-ONE Three weeks down. The advice from Paul Wood, whose prison experience has formed the basis of his coaching and speaking career, is to stay focussed on the present and not think too much about the parole or release date, because if it's changed the disappointment can

DAY TWENTY A cold, windy night turns to a bright morning. The brisk air gives me a tip and after meditation I walk up to the reserve to look out across the bay to the mountains. They're spectacular with a fresh fall of snow, quite low and topping

DAY NINETEEN After the rain the day dawns fine and clear, washed and a bit ruffled with leaves and sticks scattered over the garden. Once I'm up I knit my way through the morning news. Boris Johnson, after releasing himself early from isolation and infecting who knows how

DAY THREE I remember to sit quietly at 9am, joining my sister in her meditation group, and when I message her she says she likes the thought that I'm there with her. After that I attend to emails and some writing tasks.Time has stretched somehow and little

DAY EIGHTEEN Easter Sunday. I wake to the gentle sound of rain trickling in the downpipe. Easter is often that holiday where people are tempted to a last hurrah of summer activities, head off into the outdoors and get rained on. Most people will be snugly at home this Easter,

DAY SEVENTEEN Before I get up I answer a questionnaire which has arrived via a friend's Facebook feed. It's from Massey University and the University of Winchester in the UK and asks about exercise before and during the Level 4 conditions. I'm rather proud

DAY SIXTEEN Good Friday starts very quiet. The port seems not to be working, though I didn't expect time and tide to be suspended for a religious holiday. However, by the time I'm at work on the windowsills, Mark Knopfler crooning in the background, DIY in

DAY TEN Saturday. I'm happy to get on with the painting as soon as the day warms up. It takes most of the morning. When I open the 20 year old tin of red paint for the windowsills, I'm relieved to find that there's